Melbourne Victory had the chance and they blew it. Now Western Sydney Wanderers can make their mark as Australia’s most recognisable club on the continent, after the 2014 AFC Champions League draw was made this week.
If there is one club to watch out for in Group H of next year’s ACL, it’s the Wanderers.
The A-League newcomers have been handed a favourable draw in the continental competition, landing the same group as Chinese outfit Guizhou Renhe, South Korean regulars Ulsan Hyundai and a Japanese side which will almost certainly be this year’s J. League runners-up Yokohama F. Marinos.
And if Wanderers coach Tony Popovic is serious about the competition, he should aim to finish top of the group.
Why? Because having avoided some of Asia’s biggest clubs, the Wanderers should enjoy the distinct advantage of actually wanting to win the tournament, instead of treating it as an afterthought to domestic duties as many Asian clubs do.
Quite frankly, the ACL needs every big club with a demanding supporter base it can get, and the Wanderers are the A-League side which most clearly fits the mould.
That mantle used to belong to Melbourne Victory, but after finishing second in their group behind Gamba Osaka in 2008 – not enough that year to reach the competition’s knock-out stages – Victory soon discovered that dominating the ACL is harder than it looks.
Poor results in 2010 and 2011 saw current Victory coach Kevin Muscat claim that playing in the ACL is “not that enjoyable,” but the truth is that it probably would be if A-League clubs put some effort into preparing for the tournament and stopped hiding behind pre-meditated excuses.
Should Victory overcome their ACL playoff opponent – in all likelihood Thai side Muangthong United – they too would be drawn in a decent group containing Guangzhou Evergrande, Jeonbuk Motors and the winners of Japan’s Emperor’s Cup.
And though Guangzhou are defending Asian champions, the other two sides might be eminently beatable.
Though Jeonbuk are a handy outfit and have plenty of experience on the Asian stage, they were thrashed by 2012 Emperor’s Cup winners Kashiwa Reysol in last year’s ACL Round of 16 – with Kashiwa subsequently losing 8-1 on aggregate to a rampant Guangzhou in the semi-final.
And having watched J. League runners-up Yokohama F. Marinos dispatch Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0 at Mitsuzawa Stadium back in September, I don’t believe there’s any reason for A-League sides to be overly fearful of the Japanese representatives either.
If any club copped the short end of the stick, it’s Central Coast Mariners. Not only did they draw last season’s ACL runners-up FC Seoul, they were also grouped with back-to-back J. League winners Sanfrecce Hiroshima and potentially Chinese powerhouse Beijing Guoan.
It’s arguably the toughest draw of all, but even then Phil Moss and his team need not despair, given that Sanfrecce struggled on the continental stage last season and FC Seoul will be diligently maintaining their K-League Classic commitments alongside ACL duties.
There’s one other factor which could work in the three A-League clubs’ favour and that’s the fact that barring one or two exceptions, they’re unlikely to play in front of fiercely passionate crowds.
The Chinese sides are all capable of generating noisy attendances, but the opposite is true for the group stage’s South Korean representatives – with the occasional exception of FC Seoul – and not for the first time Australian clubs will run out in some of the worst examples of Japanese stadia on offer.
To put it bluntly, the only thing A-League fans should be worried about is their clubs trotting out pre-meditated excuses about salary caps and scouting networks before a ball has even been kicked.
There’s nothing to fear but fear itself from the ACL group stage draw, in a year in which Australian clubs should lay down a marker and declare their intent to once again do some damage in the competition.
Drew
Guest
Without a salary cap, Victory, roar, sydney, wsw and even a Nathan tinkler backed Newcastle and a tony sage backed Perth would prosper. It would only be adelaide Wellington mariners and heart without big owners, but with Gombau at adelaide and heart about to sell, these clubs won't struggle as much. It will lift our clubs profile in Asia, improve the playing standard on the league and we would see up to six teams battling for the title each season, just as it is now. Do we really need to restrict our leagues growth so that Wellington Phoenix and melbourne heart are mildly competitive? (Not that they are now.)
nordster
Guest
Well u can only suspend economic reality for so long....we'll find that out in football and elsewhere eventually. Subsidies, handouts and the like....they all require willing participants on the other end. Govt here will soon enough have more important things to worry about than football...private benefactors will run out and with the anti wealth mentality in Oz we dont have many of those to begin with lol....(even central league redistributive subsidies will rankle with naturally bigger clubs with ambitions beyond our league over time, this is football not afl.) Eventually reality will win out and the sport will be forced to embrace something self sustaining at club level....your equalisation and level playing field is a luxury that wont be viable forever.
Squizz
Guest
So without help you would have SFC vs MVC. They are the only two clubs that haven't had help. Enjoy your 2 team comp. Home and away plus the Grand Final will take 3 weeks.
Squire
Guest
my left foot, how do you come to this conclusion? Injury riddled and sitting second on the ladder.
Patrick Hargreaves
Roar Guru
One day, the ACL will be more exciting than the UCL for Australians. It's kind of exciting though, like the early years of the UCL when english clubs would go into games having barely heard of there opponents!
my left foot
Guest
Jesus, realy can we get away from the ffa inspired sydney wankfest, cricket Australia is also infected. I think Poppovic has been found out allready.
Marchisio
Guest
Mike, this is kind of article you should write. You are actually providing analysis of the football, and i gather, although i don't know, you are dealing with your area of expertise, in Asian football. Why not write more like this one? Play to your strengths.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Throw in the South Asians and the Central Asians and there really is a mixed bag of cultures. It's simply magnificent.
ciudadmarron
Guest
Given that all tickets will be on sale, these games should actually be very well attended with a lot fewer empty seats. Great opportunity. Hope the club handles the member's presale well and ensures bumper crowds.
premys
Guest
Definitely not directed at you're club AZ just a certain oblivious user on here, not saying handouts are bad or not need but a few of you're fellow club man need a big reality check. Apologies if it came across as me taking a swipe at WSW
AZ_RBB
Guest
it was much less a handout and much more an investment which will very soon produce a 500% return for the FFA. at this stage the salary cap probably won't seem too restrictive for WSW but i can see in the future, that WSW will have the potential to be much bigger than the salary cap restricted system allows them to be.
realfootball
Guest
True... But our players do need more games, and we do have 23 in the squads. For what it's worth, I think that the issue is less about travel time and numbers of games than squad depth. With the cap, our clubs tend to have quite a sharp drop off in quality outside the first 11, which means that coaches are understandably reluctant to rotate players, whereas the squad depth in the European context allows seamless rotation to rest players without a drop off in team performance.
AZ_RBB
Guest
I don't think any confederation throws up the sort of diversity you get with the AFC. I love the contrast between the Arab west and the Oriental east and then you have us thrown into the mix.
premys
Guest
LOL Wanderers going on about handouts to pleb clubs... Please tell where did the money come from to get WSW of the ground. You lot make me laugh
Franko
Guest
Great link there Carrado, I think it turned a lot of the Aust public of the matches as well. I wonder if we will see a difference in the East vs West split of the ACL this year.
Post_hoc
Guest
In truth the WSW have had the biggest handout, after all they wouldn't exist if not for the FFA, and I am a Wanderers fan, so equalisation is still required. We need CCM/Heart?AU more than they need us.
Uncle Junior
Guest
The reason Muscat made those comments was because of the constant, cynical time-wasting adopted by Asian teams, particularly Chinese clubs. Teams from the Middle East also seem prone to spontaneous collapse and resurrection when playing away from home or winning at home. And, funnily enough, the Asian Football Confederation agrees. Enough of this nonsense, and AFC has launched "'60 Minutes - Don't Delay. Play!' campaign" for the 2014 competition: http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-general-secretary/gen-sec-news/27365-60-minutes-don-t-delay-play-campaign-launched.html
gurudoright
Guest
As a fan of WSW that has only been to a handful of games, I look forward to having the chance to watch them in the ACL. To me these games are more important than the regular A-League game outside of the Finals and the Sydeny Derby. I have never understood why the ACL doesn't mean more to the fans of the clubs that qualify
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
I can guarantee you that Adelaide is the most recognised A-League side in Asia.
mahonjt
Guest
Yep. I am a Victory guy and am rarely critical of the club because I believe on the vast majority of decisions (particularly the big ones) it gets it right. The data supports this. However, apart from appointing Mem (an obvious error in my mind at the time) the failure t pay more respect to the ACL, notwithstanding the teething issues it presented in the early years of the A-League, was a big mistake. Fortunately this mistake looks unlikely to be repeated and the new board, the Victorian government and a few key partners have a very different view of the ACL. I agree with mike on the overall message in this article, however, I also think Melbourne Victory may yet achieve precisely what Mike suggests they cant.